


Between the Lines

by justbygrace



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-25
Updated: 2014-06-25
Packaged: 2018-02-06 06:14:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,707
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1847428
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justbygrace/pseuds/justbygrace
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A story for a prompt.<br/>This contains a fairly graphic car accident so please be aware of that before reading.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Between the Lines

**Author's Note:**

> No, I don't know why all my recent stories have involved car accidents.   
> This story is set in America with American terminology because I don't know the first thing about the British school system and I do not have a British beta.

Just once Rose Tyler would have liked to go through an entire school day without having to deal with the Doctor. He was the most popular boy at school and drew followers like moths to a flame, and he was the bane of her existence. She had two months left at Powell High and she was more excited that June meant that she would finally be rid of the Doctor than about any other aspect of graduation.

Her rivalry with the Doctor went clear back to the first day of her freshman year. She had been a little out of her depth, coming from a small school where everyone had known everyone since pre-K, and she was ill-prepared for a move to the city a month before her first day of high school. She wasn't irritated at her parents - after all, Pete's expanding business meant more money, more clothes, the possibility of a car in her future - but she was irritated at everything else. Mickey Smith was her saving grace, her next door neighbor, and a friendly face when she so desperately needed one, but even with his comforting presence beside her, she was not excited for her first day at a new school.

She had harnessed her fear and made it work for her, walking up to Powell High School with her head held high ready to defend her small town status. The very first person she had noticed had been a boy with spiky brown hair who was crouched over a concoction he was mixing. Through general murmurs in the crowd, Rose discovered that it was a science experiment and she should probably stand back. Sure enough, a few moments later the kid yelled for everyone to run, and whatever he had been mixing shot a geyser of colored liquid twenty or thirty feet in the air before splattering down across the pavement. 

Everyone crowded around to congratulate the kid and Rose was there too - drawn to his manic grin and flyaway hair - until the Principal came striding out, shouting about destruction of school property. The boy grinned and lazily pointed towards Mickey, announcing that it was his fault. The Principal immediately turned his irritated gaze towards Mickey, summoning him forward and telling him to explain himself. The kid waited until Mickey was standing in front of the Principal before laughing and admitting responsibility and then throwing his hands behind his back and telling the Principal to just arrest him now. Rose was the only one in the crowd not laughing - even the Principal had cracked a small smile at the kid's antics - and bombarded Mickey with questions as the students poured into the institute of learning.

Mickey brushed the whole thing off, telling her that was just the Doctor and he'd been pulling pranks like that since grade school and the only reason the Principal had fallen for it was because he was new to the district. Rose was irate, hardly believing that no one had ever stood up to this Doctor and told him off for being a jerk and a bully. She was determined to stay clear of him for the remainder of her school career and it was going really well for all of two minutes until she caught sight of him flopped in a chair outside the office, gangly limbs stretched in every direction, and he looked up and had the audacity to wink at her like the whole thing was a giant joke. Tossing her head, she turned away and headed to locate her locker.

Three years later, it was an accepted Powell fact that Rose Tyler hated the Doctor. In retrospect, she understood that hating him because he'd chosen to blame Mickey for a stupid prank and then winked at her was not one of her finer moments, but the time for making peace was long gone. Besides, he made it very hard for her to forgive and forget because it was also a Powell fact that the Doctor did not hate Rose Tyler.

He had taken her irritation very personally and did everything in his power to change her mind. From reading poems to her over the intercom to handing her roses as they passed in the hall, from leaving notes in her locker to painting "I love you, Rose Tyler" on the 50-yard line, the Doctor had tried it all. He had even taken his campaign through the summer, showing up at her summer jobs to see if he could win her heart there or showing off at every possible opportunity. There was hardly a girl in the school that wasn't jealous of the attention he lavished on her - Rose knew of several girls who actually hated her, but she would have traded with any of them in a heartbeat to have a bit of peace and anonymity. 

It was currently the end of April of her senior year, and that meant the Doctor was well into his annual make-Rose-go-with-me-to-prom campaign. Apparently he had decided that since it was their final year he should go all out and he certainly had. Thus far he had convinced the drama club to perform a song and dance routine in the cafeteria, had giant bouquets of flowers delivered to her, asked her over the intercom on a regular basis, dropped to his knees to beg her nearly every time he saw her, sent a veritable parade of his friends to repeat the question, and was apparently attempting to beat the record for most letters stuffed in her locker. Frankly the whole thing was starting to get really, really irritating. 

Rose had the feeling that the Doctor was under the impression that if he just phrased the question a different way, or did something really unique, she would say yes, but she rather thought she would be convinced if he just left her alone for twenty-four hours. Anyway, it wasn't like he was going to go solo if she declined; the Doctor had an entire posse of wannabe girlfriends. Oddly enough, the other years when his pleas had fallen on her deaf (or rather deafened) ears, he had just gone with Donna Noble - his cousin and partner in crime. It was that fact that made her question whether the Doctor was truly serious in his declarations of love, but then he would do something really ridiculous and she would shake her head and become convinced again that he wasn't serious.

She wasn't even sure she wanted to go to prom at all this year. Her way of coping with the Doctor her junior year had been to date Powell's notorious bad boy (the Doctor's declarations of love had significantly died down during that period, though his besotted looks had not). That decision had ended prom night in the E.R. with her dad trying to convince her to press charges. Her first day back at school she had been terrified of the rumors that were sure to be circulating about her. It was the only time in four years she had been thankful for the Doctor because that was the day he had chosen to write his love message to her on the football field and everyone forgot about anything else. It was also the first time she had actually dropped her iron glare at him and told him thanks as she passed him in the hall. His answering smile had almost made her forgive him for everything, but then he had started doing backflips down the hall, shouting how much he loved her at the top of his lungs, and she had rolled her eyes and life went on as usual.

Rose's mind was a continual loop of pros and cons. She kind of wanted to stay away and not deal with whatever shenanigans the Doctor was going to get up to, but it was her senior prom and the idea of sitting at home and listening to Jackie Tyler tell her what direction she was absolutely sure that Rose's life was going to take was not an option that brought her great joy. She knew that many of her friends would be happy to go as a group - Mickey for one would be utterly delighted, but she was glad that he seemed to have moved on from his crush on her and she didn't want to bring up old feelings. 

It was three weeks before prom and Rose was heading home from her after-school job. She could have driven, but Henriks was only a few blocks from her home and it was a beautiful Spring evening, perfect for clearing her head. She was nearly there when she heard her name being called. Glancing up she saw the Doctor on the other side of the street, doing tricks on his skateboard. She shook her head, wondering how he always seemed to manage to intrude on her quiet time. 

The Doctor was obviously showing off, but she couldn't help being a little bit impressed. She was glad for the darkening sky and the distance between them to hide her appreciation. There was no denying that he was attractive - she'd never said he wasn't - and being given the opportunity to observe him was not something she was upset about. It was times like this when she wondered what would have happened if he hadn't blamed Mickey for the prank that day or if she had been a bit more willing to forgive him. She sighed... no use crying over the past, and anyway, he probably would have just ended up never noticing her at all and dating one of the girls who followed him around like puppies.

Later she would recall everything all in slow motion: herself preparing to turn away, the Doctor attempting a high jump and overshooting into the road, the blare of the van horn, screaming his name, the squealing of brakes, his wide-eyed look of panic, his body being thrown sideways, her body refusing to move faster than a snail's crawl as she ran to his side. His arm was twisted awkwardly underneath him and there was so much blood. She dropped to her knees beside him, begging him to be okay, please Doctor, just be okay. He tried to smile up at her, but his face was a mess of blood and gravel and it ended up just looking like a caricature of his manic grin.

People were starting to crowd around, shouting for someone to call for an ambulance and asking if anyone was a doctor, and several voices told her to move back, but she ignored them. The Doctor reached out his right hand towards her and she caught it in hers, aware that there were tears running down her face but helpless to stop them. Even in the obvious amount of pain he was in, he tried to comfort her, telling her that he was fine and not to worry and "Don't cry, Rose, please don't cry." It seemed to take the ambulance an age to get there and she wanted to speak, wanted to offer comfort to him, but her throat had closed up and she couldn't do more than squeeze his hand and brush the hair out of his eyes - it didn't look right matted down with blood.

When EMS finally arrived, they ordered her back and away from him, but the second she let go of his hand he started asking for her and she strained to see over their shoulders, repeating his name over and over. When he was loaded into the back of the ambulance she didn't even hesitate, climbing in and crouching down beside him, tucking his hand safely in hers as the commotion continued around them. She answered the questions that were thrown at her about his allergies and medications, vaguely surprised when she knew the answers.

They were almost to the hospital when things started to go wrong. There was suddenly too much blood and everyone was panicking and telling her to get out of the way and all she could think was that if he would just wake up, she would go to prom with him. It wasn't until one of the EMTs asked her to be quiet that she realized she was speaking out loud. After that she crouched in the corner until the ambulance came to a halt and the doors flew open - there was immediately a lot of people barking orders and then he was gone, being raced towards surgery.

Somehow she stumbled into the waiting room and grabbed her cell phone, calling Donna because she was the only member of the Doctor's family she had programmed into her contacts; and then she called her parents because they were probably worried, and woodenly relayed all pertinent information. A clipboard stuffed with pages was dropped on her lap and she stared blankly at the little boxes, the image of the Doctor's bloody face permanently seared in her brain. When Donna showed up she was all business, quickly filling out the Doctor's medical history and then forcing Rose to get up and walk, keeping up a steady flow of words until Rose was able to answer her questions.

Other people came through, her parents, his aunt and uncle, some of his friends from school, Mickey, but Rose just shook her head at them. No, she didn't want to go home, no, she wasn't hungry, no, she couldn't offer any more details. The flow of voices and people ceased to make sense after a while and she huddled in a chair, waiting only for news from the Doctor's doctor - and that was an irony she would appreciate at another time. At long last a woman in a blood-soaked gown appeared, informing them that he was fine, he was resting, and visitors were restricted until he awoke. 

Rose stayed where she was, unable to believe it until Donna suddenly appeared in front of her, telling her that she and her parents were heading home and did she want to see him now? Rose followed Donna on legs that seemed to have lost all feeling, holding back a gasp at the sight of the Doctor dwarfed under all the machines. She sank down on a chair, gripping his hand, and never realizing when Donna left. All she could think about was that the boy who had always seemed so much larger than life was suddenly so small and still and she had never given him a chance. Laying her head down on the bed beside him, she wept.

Somehow she fell asleep, because when she woke up he was awake too, staring at her with an awed expression. She blushed, trying to pull her hand free and turn away, but he was having none of that, keeping a tight hold on her hand and the beginning of a smile on his face. For a long moment, neither of them spoke, and then he finally broke the silence, asking her if she had really meant it when she said she would go to prom with him. She wanted to laugh and cry and what came out was a sort of hiccup and a choked yes. Then he smiled for real, a grin she had the sudden urge to kiss it off his face. She didn't - not yet - but she did rest her head on his chest and then smacked him when he said he'd always known he would find a way to get her to say yes.

Later, much later, when Powell High School and the collective surprise caused by the Doctor and Rose Tyler attending Senior Prom together was a thing of the past, the Doctor admitted that he'd had a crush on her since the first day he had looked up and spotted her striding towards the school like she was ready to do battle. She just laughed and kissed his cheek and told him she'd hated him only fifty percent of the time and he should really feel flattered by that. He reminded her that their ten year high school reunion was coming up and there was another question he would like her to say yes to. (She said yes to that one too.)


End file.
